Lily's Pensieve
by lovely ravenclaw
Summary: After Harry's 6th Year at Hogwarts, everything has changed. As he prepares to embark on a hunt for Voldemort, Professor McGonagall comes bearing a very interesting artifact from Dumbledore's office: his mother's pensieve! This is my first MWPP story and
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

Prologue:

Minerva McGonagall walked slowly through the somber halls, biting her lip and pondering the task at hand. In her long life, she had faced her share of difficult situations. She'd fought Death Eaters on more than one occasion, protected students from trolls, dementors, and one particularly gruesome Professor Umbridge, and even dealt with six and a half years of Weasley twin pranks, but this, this was quite different. Here she was, about to knock on the door of the hero of the wizarding world, a mere boy, who had lost everything he had ever held dear. And she would pat him on the shoulder and hold out the stone basin as if that would make everything all right. She was slightly disgusted with herself, but she had to do it; it was among the many demands Dumbledore had laid out in a neatly written letter outlining all his last wishes.

She knocked tentatively on the door, hoping inwardly that he was not there and she could just leave it outside his room with a short note and be on her way. However, a moment later the door creaked open and he stood there, looking tired and more than a little bedraggled.

"Potter," she croaked, not sure where to begin. He looked at her strangely, apparently wondering what exactly she was doing in the door of his room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. "Harry," she tried again, stepping into the room. She then noticed Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley were also in the room and she wondered if, perhaps, she ought to come back at another time. However, she seriously doubted if she _could_ come back another time, so she proceeded with her task. Potter was going to tell them regardless, she assumed. "Dumbledore wished me to give you this." She held out the stone basin in her hands.

"His pensieve?" Harry asked dubiously.

"Not exactly," McGonagall explained. "The first memory is Dumbledore's actually, which will explain the rest. But Harry, this is no ordinary pensieve…it contains the memories of… your mother." Harry stood stock still as he let the words sink in and Hermione and Ron shot each other nervous glances. Dumbledore had had Lily's memories all this time and never told Harry about it? He was sure to explode with anger. Much to their surprise, though, he calmly accepted the pensieve.

"I see," he replied, quite rationally indeed.

"I hope this proves useful for the tasks you have planned for the coming year," McGonagall said somberly. She was no fool; she knew he was not planning to return to Hogwarts even if it did remain open.

"Thank you," Harry said, his eyes blazing with intensity. Perhaps he was not a mere boy afterall. She nodded a greeting to Hermione and Ron before exiting the room.

Harry turned around and sat heavily on his bed. Hermione took this as her cue to leave Harry alone.

"Well, we'll just be going then," she said softly, tugging on Ron's elbow to drag him from the room.

"Stay," Harry said simply, eyes focused on the swirling, pearly strands of memory.

"But Harry, don't you think you ought to be alone for this?" Hermione asked sensibly.

"Please don't leave me alone. I can't possibly be alone for this." Hermione gave Ron a worried look, but approached Harry and the pensieve.

"All right, we're here for you as long as you need us," Hermione said.

"Thanks. I'm going to get Ginny," Harry said. Hermione looked at him oddly, but chose to remain quiet.

"Why?" Ron finally spoke up.

"I'd like her to be here too," Harry responded, heading out the door.

"But _why_?" Ron asked again, quite bluntly.

"_Ronald_" Hermione scolded him. He wasn't sure why, but now was no time for an argument so he shrugged and sat down on the bed beside Hermione.

A moment later Harry reappeared, an arguing Ginny in tow.

"I really don't think I should be here for this. You three are the only ones who would need to know this stuff for defeating Voldemort. There's nothing I could possibly benefit from seeing all this." Ginny reasoned. Harry had not explained to her exactly _whose_ pensieve they would be going into, just that Dumbledore had wanted Harry to see this and there was much to be learned from it.

"Ginny please. I need you here with me. This isn't like all the other memories I saw this past year. These are… my mother's. And if there's anyone I want to share this with, it is you." Harry said, taking her hand in his.

"Hey, what about us?" Ron piped up, only to be swiftly elbowed by Hermione. Both Harry and Ginny chose to ignore his comment, seeing as how Hermione was taking care of it.

"All right, if you insist," Ginny said, squeezing Harry's hand. They joined Ron and Hermione on the bed, sitting in a circle with the pensieve at the center.

"Ready?" Harry asked the group. They all nodded and leaned forward simultaneous. "Well, let's go then." Harry closed his eyes as he neared the edge of the memories, afraid of what he would find. A moment later he felt himself tip into the edge and tumble into a very familiar office.

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! The next chapter will be in this sort of format, told from the perspective of Harry and company, but it will quickly move to being told from Lily's perspective with occasional comments from Harry. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

Chapter 1: Lily's Visit

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron suddenly found themselves in Dumbledore's office. He was sitting behind his desk, biting on the end of a quill and occasionally scribbling on an incredibly long parchment. A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore called absentmindedly, not looking up from his parchment.

"Um, Professor?" Came a timid, nervous voice from the door. Harry looked over to see his mother standing there, cloak held tightly around her. She looked pale and scared. He took a couple steps closer to her and Ginny followed wordlessly.

"Lily, you've been out of school for years now, there's no need to call me Professor. Albus will do. And please, come in dear. What can I do for you?"

"Well, Albus," Lily gulped as she came forward and settled in a chair Dumbledore conjured up. "We're doing the Fidelius Charm tonight, as you know. And before we do it, I just want…I just want to give you my memories." She was fiddling with the charm on her necklace and avoiding Dumbledore's penetrating gaze.

"Lily, this isn't necessary."

"But-"

"The Fidelius Charm is the safest thing you could do under these circumstances."

"But I can't shake this feeling-"

"Lily, you have nothing to worry about."

"Albus, please. I hope I am overreacting, but if not, I want my memories to be preserved. I want Harry to know his mother." Her voice was quaking and her shoulders began to tremble. Harry was watching her face with rapt attention.

"All of them?" Dumbledore said skeptically as he rose and went to a cupboard full of stone basins.

"All of the important ones," Lily said simply.

"Lily, are you certain-"

"When this is all over, if we live through it, I'll be back for them. I hope he never has to see them. But if not, I want you to keep them."

"All right Lily, if that's what you want. You remember the charm for it, I suppose?" Lily nodded eagerly as Dumbledore placed the basin on his desk. "Ok, I'll put this memory at the beginning then, as a bit of explanation, but I truly hope to see you back here soon to retrieve these."

"Me too," Lily said simply as she began pulling long pearly strands of memory from her mind.

A moment later, Harry and his friends felt a falling sensation and they were back in Harry's room in Grimmauld Place.

"Harry, are you ok?" Ginny whispered, rubbing his arm. He nodded and tried to look as determined as possible.

"Are you guys ready? I don't want to waste any time," he said. Hermione and Ginny exchanged worried looks but agreed and gathered back around the pensieve to dive into Lily's past.

A/N: Hi there everyone! I know this is very short, but I needed another little chapter before jumping into Lily's memories. I expect the next chapters to be much longer. Please read and review if you like it…or if you don't! Constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

Chapter 2: Self Discovery

When things stabilized again Harry and his friends found themselves in an unfamiliar house where two young girls were arguing over a pink sweater. Though the onlookers knew they had to be sisters, they never would have guessed it if they'd come across them on the street. One had a head full of unruly red curls while the other had stick straight brown hair swinging from its ponytail. The redhead was freckled with dimples and what might have been a sweet smile if she had not been gritting her teeth while pulling on the stretching bit of material. The other girl was taller and skinnier with a long, grim face. She seemed altogether incapable of smiling or laughing or being pleasant.

"Give it back!" Lily whined, tugging on the sweater.

"I don't care if it's yours or not! Pink would look hideous on you with that horrid red hair. Give it to me, I want it!" Harry was seriously reminded of Dudley as Petunia whined and shouted and tugged with all her might.

"This was a birthday present! And I don't care if it looks funny with my hair, I like pink!" Lily cried, beginning to worry that her sweater would be un-wearable after all the stretching.

"Girls! What's going on in here?" A woman Harry had never seen before called over the din, stepping into the room. She had long wavy auburn hair, not nearly as red as Lily's, but much more pleasant than Petunia's. Harry stepped forward to look at her more closely, guessing that this was his grandmother.

"Mu-ummm," Petunia cried in a whiney voice.

"Oh fine, just have the stupid sweater. You've ruined it anyways," Lily said with a scowl, crossing her arms and turning her back on her sister. Petunia gathered the pink sweater in her arms and started to run up to her room.

"Petunia Louise Evans you drop that sweater right now. You know that was Lily's birthday present and you have your own clothes to wear." Mrs. Evans said with a sigh; her arguing daughters had been causing her extra stress lately and she hoped it was just a phase they would outgrow quickly.

"Fine, here you go, you little freak," Petunia said, throwing the sweater at Lily's back before running upstairs. "Freak" would become one of Petunia's favorite words to call her sister after they all found out, but now it was used unknowingly. Sure, Lily had sometimes seemed _different_, but there was nothing overtly weird about her. In fact, she was quite popular and had many friends. Even the boys had started to notice her, much to Petunia's chagrin.

Lily kept her arms crossed, refusing to acknowledge Petunia's snide comment.

"Lily, you've got some mail dear." Her mother said handing her a thick envelope. Lily looked at it curiously, turning it over in her hands. It was thick not just because it contained many sheets of paper, but because it was made of a rough parchment. The writing looked like calligraphy made with one of those old-fashioned quills, rather than a ballpoint pen and there was an unfamiliar seal on the back saying something in another language-Latin she supposed. She immediately thought there was must be a mistake, but it was very clearly addressed to her.

"Where's the stamp?" She asked her mother curiously, who was folding the stretched out sweater carefully.

"I haven't any idea. Perhaps one of your friends just ran by and dropped it in the mailbox. Maybe it's a party invitation," Mrs. Evans responded. Lily murmured her agreement, though she really didn't think that was the case at all. She opened the envelope carefully and pulled out several sheets of paper. Harry edged closer so he could read the letter, though he assumed it was the same as the one he'd gotten. He was surprised to see that it actually quite different. The first page, for instance, was a very long letter from Dumbledore. Harry looked over at Hermione, wondering if she'd received a letter like this as well. From the knowing, sympathetic smile on her face, he imagined that she did. It read:

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_I hope this letter finds you well, without your dear older sister Petunia giving you too hard of time. I have some rather disturbing news so I suggest you sit down. I'm not sure if you've guessed it by now, but you are a witch. Please do not be alarmed. I assure you that there is a whole society of functioning witches and wizards right out of sight of most Muggles (what we call non-magical folk, don't worry, you'll get the lingo in no time at all). From the day you were born, your name has been on a list of magical children, and now is the time to ask you to join our lovely school, Hogwarts. I understand this is probably quite the shock (unless of course, you actually did guess it) so I would like to come over and explain some things to you and your parents. This is not a prank of any sort, you must understand. I was thinking of stopping by this afternoon actually. Is now a good time? Ah, wonderful. See you soon, _

_Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

The doorbell rang all of a sudden and Lily gasped, forgetting the rest of the sheets of parchment clutched in her hand. She stared in shock at the letter and then the door and then back to the letter. Her mother was beginning to open the door when she came to her senses.

"No mum! Don't open it!" Lily cried, rushing forward.

"And heaven's why not?" Mrs. Evans asked, surprised at Lily's erratic behaviour.

"Because it's a _madman_!"

"Lily! What in the world are you talking about?"

"Look Mum! It's him, the person who sent the letter. And he's nuts!" Lily continued to shriek, her face turning as red as her hair. Lily shoved the letter into her mother's hands who scanned it over, turning a strange color of green as she read.

"I really think we ought to let him in," she mumbled weakly. Lily cringed as her mother yanked open the door to reveal the strangest looking man she'd ever seen. Seeing a barely younger Dumbledore standing in the doorway, so alive, so triumphant, made Harry gasp, but he figured he'd probably be seeing a lot of him as his mother's memories wore on, so he gulped down his tears and continued watching.

"Mrs. Evans," Dumbledore said as he nodded hello to her. He turned those infamously twinkling eyes on the younger girl in the room. "And Lily, it is so nice to meet you. And to think we all thought you would outgrow your red curls," he said with a laugh. Mrs. Evans managed a weak smile, avoiding Lily's eyes.

"Excuse me?" Lily said, hands on hips. None of the onlookers were quite sure if she was saying this to Dumbledore or her mother.

"Lily, Mr. Dumbledore has been here before. He came a few days after you were born." Mrs. Evans told her.

"Are you saying you believe him? You've let him in our house before and never found it important to tell me? He is INSANE Mum!" Lily cried, ignoring the fact that Dumbledore was still in the room. Of course he wasn't fazed by this though, he was just standing there whistling a bit, hands in his pockets, and rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Lily, please calm down. You are a witch," her mother said quietly.

"No you're a witch!" Lily shouted, grabbing a vase full of tulips from a stand in the front hall and hurling it at the wall behind her mother. Everyone not actually present laughed at the ferocity of Harry's eleven-year-old mother.

"Oh Lily, please stop," Mrs. Evans cried, bending over the shards of glass.

"No worries Elizabeth, I'll get it," Dumbledore said, repairing the vase with a wave of his hand and returning it safe and sound to the stand. Elizabeth. Harry's grandmother's name was Elizabeth. He thought it was a very lovely name and wondered if he could possibly name his first daughter that, if he lived that long. The thought made him reach over and squeeze Ginny's hand, who was watching with amazement at the scene unfolding. Lily, who'd been staring in surprise, finally managed to piece a sentence together.

"What the bloody hell," she mumbled.

"Ladies, if you'll follow me, I think we better migrate to the living room. I'll get us some tea and you, Lily, can ask me anything you want." Once settled in the living room with steaming cups of tea that had appeared out of thin air, Dumbledore explained everything to Lily. He even indulged her by conjuring flowers, pulling a rabbit out of a hat, and making the pictures of Petunia on the mantle temporarily disappear, though he assured her that the type of magic she would be learning was much less Houdini and much more Merlin in style. After several hours and countless cups of tea, Lily Evans was finally convinced…she was a witch.

A/N: Well, this chapter is at least longer than the last one, so that's good right? Thank you so much to those who have already reviewed! I adore you all. Please keep letting me know what you think of it!


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you might recognize.

Chapter 3: Hogwarts Express

Lily walked down the middle of the train very hesitantly, not quite believing this was happening. She's spent the week since Dumbledore appeared on her doorstep preparing for wizarding school. Harry and his friends had watched her stumble through Diagon Alley for the first time, pick out her wand at Ollivander's (or perhaps, more aptly, watched her wand choose her), and pour over _Hogwarts, A History_ as well as her other textbooks, trying to adjust to the idea that she was on her way to becoming a real life witch. And just moments before she and her family had nervously walked into (and through!) a wall of King's Cross Station and said goodbye in front of a massive scarlet train. She gave quick hugs to her mom and dad, not wanting to look like too much of a baby in front of her future schoolmates, and nodded to Petunia who'd been forcibly brought along by Mr. and Mrs. Evans and who also refused to get too close to Lily as if being a witch was a contagious condition one could catch from hugging or sharing a smile. It was not as if Lily _wanted_ to hug Petunia anyways, so all was for the best. And now here she was, struggling through the middle aisle with her trunks and bags and a crate containing a rambunctious little kitten, while students jostled her from all sides. No one else seemed to have nearly as much luggage as she had and she wondered how anyone could fit a years worth of clothes, shoes, and books into one trunk. The idea that most of the other students had parents who could magically expand their trunks to be nearly bottomless never occurred to her.

"Eh, hurry up would you? We haven't got all day," someone shouted from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see a pale blonde boy in dark green robes with a menacingly look on his face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I've just got-" Lily mumbled, trying to move forward. She was not usually so shy, but then again she was somewhat out of her element.

"Do you think I really care? Now move out of my way before I hex you halfway around the globe." Lily's already big green eyes grew rounder with fright.

"I-I-" She tried to say, under the furious gaze of the boy's steely gray eyes. A hand clamped down on Lily's skinny little arm and a round face poked out of a compartment.

"Oy! In here!" The girl said, before pulling Lily, trunks and all, in and sliding the door shut quickly.

"Thanks," Lily said shyly. Where was all this shyness coming from? She was usually quite the fiery little redhead.

"No problemo," the girl said with a shrug as she pressed her forehead to the glass door, watching the intimidating boy go by. "Do you _know_ who that was?" Lily shook her head. "That was Lucius Malfoy. He's a fourth year, in _Slytherin_. My older brother's told me about him. He's the awfulest evilest boy in the whole school."

"I think he's kind of cute," piped up the other girl in the compartment. The first girl, the one with the round face gave her a sharp look. "What? He is. And anyways, awfulest isn't even a word." Lily giggled; the girl had a point.

"I'm Lily." She said, realizing that she knew neither of their names and they didn't know hers.

"I'm Kate and that's Lucy," the first girl said. Lucy gave her a bright, pink smile. All in all, Lucy was quite pink actually. Her cheeks were rosy and her blonde ponytail was tied with a pink ribbon. Kate, on the other hand, had long brown braids and an olive complexion. Lily wondered if she was perhaps from Greece or Italy, though she spoke with a British accent. The girls helped Lily get her trunks and bags settled in the overhead compartment before taking their seats. It only took a minute or two for them to be chatting animatedly about anything and everything. Lucy and Kate were particularly interested in Lily being a Muggle-though they had to explain what one was first and Lily asked them as many questions about growing up with magic as she could think of. Right as the train began to lurch forward, their door was flung open. Lily looked up in surprise, hoping it wasn't that mean boy from earlier, but found, instead, two dark haired boys. She may have only been eleven, but she was not oblivious to the fact that they were absolutely adorable. She managed half a smile before Kate slammed the door shut with a resolute "Get out!" Both Lily and Lucy gave her an alarmed look. These boys were _cute_, what was wrong with her?

"Come on Kate let us in!" Shouted one of the boys as he banged on the glass.

"No, go away Sirius, we don't want you in here!" _We don't?_ Lily thought to herself. A quick glance at Lucy showed Lily that she was thinking the same thing."What about me then?" The other one asked. He was not banging on the glass but desperately trying to smush flat his unruly head of hair. Harry, who'd been watching the whole time from the floor of the compartment where he and his friends had settled, laughed at this, wondering when exactly his father would take up the habit of intentionally mussing up his hair.

"No James, not you either. Now go away!" The boys, looking resigned, trooped away pulling their trunks.

"What'd they ever do to you?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Well, I suppose nothing…in particular. But I _have_ had to deal with those two for the last 5 years of my life and it was no walk in the park, let me tell you," Kate explained. Lily got the impression that she very much liked to be the one explaining things to others. She was very good at being bossy, but Lily didn't mind, too much.

"How come?" Lucy asked.

"How come what?"

"How come you've spent the last 5 years with them?" Lily piped up.

"Grammar school," Kate said, crossing her arms and falling back into her seat.

"What's that?" Lucy asked, innocently.

"Where do you come from anyways?" Kate asked, looking skeptical.

"Ottery St. Catchpole," Lucy responded shyly. Lily had never heard of it before though.

"Oh well that explains it then. See grammar school is where all the fancy people in London send their children before we go to Hogwarts. Basically we just learn how to drink tea and recite poetry and waltz. Boring stuff like that, while our mums go shopping for diamonds and drink martinis" Kate said with a shrug. Lily got the feeling she had not been too fond of grammar school.

"And you got to spend all those years waltzing with Sirius and James?" Lucy asked, a little dreamily. Lily giggled at the look on Kate's face.

"Yeah they might look all charming now, what with Sirius' puppy dog eyes and James' mussed up hair, but just you wait. They're little devils I tell you. I just hope I don't end up in the same house as them." Lucy gave a sympathetic nod but Lily looked confused.

"House?" She asked. Kate, with interruptions by Lucy, explained the houses of Hogwarts. Both Kate and Lucy were hoping to be in Gryffindor, though Lucy's father's family had mostly been in Hufflepuff. Her mother had gone to Beauxbatons, another wizarding school in France.

"I bet I'll be in Ravenclaw," Lily said, after listening to the attributes of each house. Harry was surprised. _Had_ his mother been in Ravenclaw? He'd never given it much thought. He'd always assumed she'd been in Gryffindor like his dad and himself. Not that there was anything _wrong _with Ravenclaw, but he'd always just thought… Well, he'd just have to wait till the sorting to find out, assuming Lily had deemed her sorting important enough to save in the Pensieve. As it was, there were often gaps in her memories, leaving out anything she had apparently deemed uninteresting or unimportant. Harry was relieved for this, considering he didn't want to watch 7 more years of History of Magic from his mother's point of view.

Suddenly there came a polite knock at the door. Harry and company were delighted to see a very young Remus Lupin standing there.

"Remus!" Lucy squealed as Kate slid open the door.

"Hey Lu, do you mind if I sit with you for awhile. The boy I was sitting with has fallen asleep and started snoring," Remus said, looking apologetically at Lucy.

"Oh of course, that's alright with you girls, isn't it?" Lucy asked. Lily and Kate nodded, seeing as how he seemed a lot nicer already than James and Sirius had been. The boy-Remus-took a seat next to Lucy. "This is my cousin, Remus Lupin. Remus, these are my new friends, Kate and Lily." Remus nodded hello to each of them, giving Lily a shy smile. She'd only been in his presence for 30 seconds but she was quite taken with him actually. Sirius and James had been strikingly good looking, but Remus was attractive in a quieter, irresistible way. And there was something quite tragic about his honey colored eyes that peaked Lily's curiosity. She had quite the dramatic flair and in her mind she started to develop a kind of plotline in which she was a damsel in distress and he was the strong, quiet scholar no one expected her to fall in love. She could feel herself blushing at the idea. Harry might have been blushing too if he'd known what exactly his mother was thinking about his dear Professor Lupin, but Pensieves didn't allow access to thoughts and he was still too dense to pick out the tell tale signs of infatuation in his mother's twinkling eyes and pink cheeks. Hermione and Ginny, however, shared looks that clearly said _Ahh, perhaps this will get more interesting than we thought_.

A/N: Hello everyone! Here's another chapter for you! I think this one starts making the story a little more interesting. I hope you all agree! Don't worry, this does, of course become a J/L story in accordance with canon, but I always thought Lily and Remus were more suited for each other (aside from the whole werewolf thing) so I'm going to play with that a bit. If you liked this chapter please review! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.

Chapter 4: Train Hijinxs Continue

Lily tried to resist the falling asleep sensation but she could feel it stealing over her. Her eyes would start to flutter closed and her head would get heavy, but then the train would hit another bump and she'd jerk back awake. One would imagine that a magical train would not be quite so bumpy and would maybe go much faster so as not to take several hours to get to school. Maybe then her new friends would not be fast asleep. Lucy was leaning against the window, pink cheek plastered against the chilly window and little feet tucked up underneath her robes. Kate had finally succumbed to sleep as well, leaning heavily against Lily's shoulder, making Lily quite uncomfortable. Across the way Remus was still reading silently, honey colored eyes scanning quickly and one long thin finger reaching out to turn the page. Occasionally he would lick his finger, you know, to separate those bothersome stuck-together pages, and Lily found this completely adorable. For quite a while she tried to look elsewhere, but he was sitting right across from her and she really had nowhere else to look. For the last hour she had been flat out watching him, a look of charming curiosity across her face (in case he should look up, she wanted to look intelligent and charming), but he had not so much as looked up at her once, even though she was wearing her most flattering navy blue pin striped blouse and her hair was actually cooperating. Lily gave a little sigh.

On the floor, Harry echoed her. His legs were starting to go numb. There was really very little space on the floor, and though they probably could have just sat on the seats "through" Lily and her friends, the idea was too strange to them. So there they were, sitting, bored on the floor, waiting for something to happen. Ginny had actually dozed off too, head on Harry's shoulder.

"This is bloody boring mate," Ron whispered, "no offense."

"There's no need to whisper, Ron, they can't hear us," Hermione said. Well, actually she whispered it too, though she wasn't sure why. She supposed the quietness of the compartment just called for a whisper.

"I know," Harry mumbled, "I was expecting a little more excitement. I hope there aren't too many other memories like this. It'll take me years to get through them all. Plus, I'm certainly not learning anything about defeating Voldemort from _this_." Ron and Hermione nodded their agreement.

Little did they know, Lily was certainly planning some excitement. First she thought about just leaping across the compartment, landing in Remus' lap, and showering him with kisses. She certainly was a wanton little eleven year old. Then she realized that she had never really kissed a boy and didn't know how to go about doing it. Plus, Kate was sleeping quite heavily on her and it would certainly ruin everything if she had to throw her off before leaping into Remus' lap. Plus, he actually seemed to be enjoying the book a lot. Now, for instance, a slight smile was curling up the edge of his lips. She tried to see what he was reading. Something about nocturnal animals? _How strange,_ she thought, _that's not the book I was assigned for that magical animal class._ Too bad she knew next to nothing about nocturnal animals so she couldn't even strike up a lively conversation with him. _What is with wizards and nocturnal animals?_ Lily thought to herself. The bloke in the Menagerie kept trying to get her to buy an owl, though she couldn't see why. She had finally convinced him that she actually wanted that sweet little orange kitten in the window, only to find out there was something terribly wrong with it when she got it home. Namely, it was a monster. The next day she went back to explain that her kitten was defective and the boy in the shop said something about getting a sneezle and how lucky she was and then shoved her out the door. She wasn't sure what a sneezle or weezle or neezle or whatever it was called was, but she was a little horrified. Wizards sure were brave cat owners. Granted the cat had been perfect the whole trip so far, but Lily just considered that a fluke.

Across the way Remus lowered the book to his lap and stretched, raising his arms above his head and Lily's mind jumped back to the matter at hand: Remus. His eyes locked on hers with an amused little smile and she could feel her cheeks starting to flame up. _Damn red hair, always blushing at all the wrong times_, she thought to herself, _Well, do something! At least quit staring Lily! Say something! Anything! No not anything! Something charming and irresistible_. Nothing charming or irresistible came into her head, but she did swallow. That was at least a start. Maybe later she would even breathe. He would certainly be impressed with that. Remus' amused smile widened. Suddenly a _knock, knock, knock_ sounded at their glass door. Lily looked up at the two boys from earlier, what were there names? Oh yes, James and Sirius, though she couldn't remember which was which. Before she could reach over to open the door (because she had to shift Kate off of her and because she was still in slow motion from her near romantic encounter with Remus) the knocking turned into pounding (and even a little kicking) by the other boy-the one with the puppy dog eyes. After disentangling herself from Kate, who was groggily awakening, she stood up and slid the door back.

"A little impatient, aren't we?" She asked with a cheeky grin, hands on hips. She could have sworn the boy with the messed up hair got a dreamy little look in his eyes. Lily tried not to giggle, she _loved_ having that effect on boys. If only Remus had been so easy.

"Patience was never something they understood, Lily. Don't waste your time," Kate said with a yawn, trying to give her most evil, albeit sleepiest, _look_. Much to her chagrin, the boys were undeterred.

"How come he's allowed in here when you wouldn't let us in?" The puppy eyed, Sirius? asked, elbowing his way inside. James followed, the dreamy look having passed from his face. Remus looked up in surprise. He really did not want to be dragged into this. Kate was just about to retort when Lily saved her the trouble.

"Maybe because Remus is not an arrogant, stuck-up, buffoon like you two obviously are!" Lily replied angrily. Sirius and James looked at her in surprise. Kate really couldn't have looked happier. _So the girl has some fight in her after all,_ Kate thought happily. Even Harry was laughing from his position on the floor. He didn't mind if his mum gave his dad a hard time now since he knew they'd fall in love eventually.

"How do you know we're arrogant stuck-up buffoons? We don't even know you," James, yes she was fairly certain that one was James, replied.

"And how do you know he's so great anyways?" Sirius piped up. It was a bizarre sensation for Remus to be talked about like this when he was sitting right there, but he was curious as to what else Lily was going to say about him.

"Just…because…I do!" Lily said, stomping her foot a bit. _Ok, that was not so great Lily_, she thought to herself. She really needed to stop referring to herself in the third person while she was talking to herself in her head. Oh man, she was going nuts. Remus, seeing that she was getting flustered, stood up.

"Actually this is all my fault," he began, intending to explain about that boy-Peter- who he'd been sharing a compartment with until the snoring began. Sirius stopped him though.

"Sit back down lad," Sirius said, clapping on a hand to Remus' shoulder, "we're men, it's never our fault," he announced triumphantly. Remus gave him a peculiar look.

"Actually, mate, I think it's 'we're men so it's always our fault.' At least that's what my mum says," James said. Sirius looked crestfallen.

"Bloody hell, you're right." James and Remus, looking a little resigned, collapsed onto the bench seat behind them. Sirius shot a look at Kate and Lily (who had returned to her own seat) to see if they were going to demand that James get up and leave. To his surprise, it seemed as though they were slightly amused by the scene that had just unfolded. Feeling it was safe, he pushed James over a little.

"Budge up, mate, I need somewhere to sit too," Sirius said, though there was plenty of room on Lily and Kate's side. Apparently he was not _that_ brave. Sirius wiggled into the tiny space next to James, jostling the still sleeping Lucy as he did so.

"Remussss," she moaned, obviously thinking he was the one pushing her. Sirius leaned over to give Remus an approving look.

"Already got 'em moaning your name in their sleep, eh mate? 'Atta boy," Sirius grinned. Remus blushed and Kate and Lily stifled fresh giggles.

"Erm, she's my cousin," Remus admitted bashfully.

"Bloody hell, where do you come from?" James shrieked, sounding disgusted. Lily and Kate could not hold the laughter in any longer, but after a moment Lily felt the need to rescue Remus, seeing as how James and Sirius were still confused.

"Yes, they are cousins. But she wasn't moaning his name _like that_. She was just groaning because she assumed it was Remus shoving her about like that because she probably had no idea that our compartment had been invaded by two annoying prats. Isn't that right Lu?" Lily asked, seeing that their little blonde companion had sat up and was rubbing the sleep from her crystal blue eyes. Lucy nodded, though she had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that she was sitting unusually close to one of those adorable boys from earlier. She tried to bat her eyelashes but she was still sleepy and it just came out as two slow blinks. It didn't matter though, it was still adorable. Lily envied Lucy's grace under fire.

"So she's your cousin then? Just a cousin?" Sirius asked Remus, though his eyes never left Lucy. "I guess there's only one thing to do then." He took hold of one her little hands and raised it to his lips. "Ah mon cherie, ich bin Sirius, Sirius Black. Mucho gusto." He tried to sound suave and sophisticated with his array of foreign languages, but it just sounded silly as he mispronounced everything, including his own name.

"I'm Lucy Lupin," she responded, "and I only know English," she added with a sweet grin. Kate and Lily giggled a little.

"Yuck, this is disgusting. Come on Sirius, we're going now before someone starts kissing someone," James said with a shudder. He couldn't help it, but his glance landed on Lily right as he said the word "kissed" and she'd given him a saucy little wink. Holy Merlin he had to get out of there right away! He grabbed Sirius' arm and pulled him out the door. Before going though he looked back.

"Come on Remus, you're coming right?" Remus looked up in surprise. He was being invited somewhere? This had never really happened before. His parents had always been rather protective of him, due to his condition. But now they weren't there to hold him back. What a lovely feeling.

"You're free to stay here too you know," Lily mumbled, pretending to be preoccupied with her fingernails. He raised an eye at her and looked back at James and Sirius who were waiting. Sure, she did have the prettiest green eyes he'd ever seen but he was only eleven and when you're eleven and a boy, friends are more important than girlfriends. He reached over and ruffled Lucy's hair,

"I'll see ya later, ok?" She nodded and gave him a parting wave. The door slid shut behind the boys and all three girls sighed. They looked at each other with surprise. Kate was the first to speak.

"Well that was fun," she said. The other girls looked at her in shock and then they all dissolved into laughter. On the floor, Harry was sighing as well. Yes, he was certainly glad that his mother was having a good time, but more than anything he wished he could have followed his father.

A/N: Well, I hoped to get to the Sorting in this chapter but I just feel like this is a good stopping point. I had a great amount of fun with this chapter. How adorable are those little Marauders? Eeek, I just love them. Too bad they aren't real  Ok well, as always please please please read and review, especially if you have suggestions as to what might make this more interesting/enjoyable. This is my first MWPP fic so I'd love any help I can get! Thanks!


End file.
